America Promised Them Safety. Now It’s Charging $1,000 to Stay Out of a Warzone.

The Trump administration has gutted protections for Afghans who helped the U.S. mission—slashing refugee admissions, ending TPS, and erecting costly new fees that few can afford.

WASHINGTON — Four years after the United States announced a refugee program for Afghans who aided the U.S. mission during the war, the Trump administration has rescinded legal protections and suspended resettlement pathways, stranding thousands of former allies in legal and geographic limbo.

In 2021, the Biden administration created a Priority 2 (P-2) designation under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), aimed at Afghans affiliated with the U.S. government or U.S.-funded organizations. The State Department at the time promised that “thousands of Afghans and their immediate family members” would be eligible for permanent resettlement in the United States, even if they did not qualify for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). This included local employees, contractors, interpreters, and Afghan staff for U.S.-based media or NGOs [India Blooms, Aug. 3, 2021].